Technical Field
The subject matter described herein relates to the transmission of audio via a wireless communication channel.
Description of Related Art
Traditional multi-channel surround sound systems use wires to carry the audio signal from the amplifier/receiver device to a plurality of speakers (e.g., six speakers in a 5.1 system). This type of set up is not subject to external interference because it is a closed system, and it also has the inherent advantage of keeping all the speakers in sync with each other, as they all play the audio almost instantaneously and in harmony with each other.
However, the convenience associated with not having to run wires across the room make for a compelling reason to build a wireless system without the associated problems traditionally associated with these systems.
Multi-channel wireless audio systems can use proprietary wireless hardware and protocols or use standard Wi-Fi-enabled apparatuses (e.g., access points) to deliver audio to speakers wirelessly from a source device (e.g., an audio/video receiver). Proprietary wireless hardware was the preferred method in the past because wireless standards such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 were originally designed to carry data packets without requiring isochronous timing. Hence, in order to maintain strict timing required to send audio, vendors began to build hardware solutions that deviated from the Wi-Fi standard to provide the required timing, thereby making every solution proprietary.